Bob Sanders

Bob Sanders, whose name is actually Demond Sanders, plays safety for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. Sanders was the 44th pick overall and was chosen in round two of the 2004 draft by the Colts. Standing five-foot-eight and 209 pounds, Bob played his college ball for Iowa when studying at the University of Iowa.

Sanders was given the name ‘Demond’ at birth. When he was a child, he told his mother that people had a hard time pronouncing his name and he’d like to change it. She suggested the nickname “Bob,” and he went with it. It’s been his name ever since.

In college, Sanders proved to have a high running motor and to be a hard hitter. By the time he graduated in 2003, he had recorded 348 tackles.

Sanders has been a Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection twice in 2005 and in 2007. He played on the Colts Super Bowl XLI championship team. In 2007, he was chosen as the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year and the GMC Defensive Player of the Year. In four seasons, Sanders has played in a total of 39 games, making 251 tackles with 194 solo stops. He’s recorded 3.5 sacks and caught four interceptions.

Sanders is an undersized safety who is intelligent, energetic and totally focused on the game and the play at hand. Playing bigger than he is, he’ll sacrifice his body while punishing and pounding the ball carrier. He reads plays and quarterbacks exceptionally well and has an explosive quality, fine speed and refined quickness that make him one of the finest safeties in the league. Because he is physically smaller, Sanders may tend to wear down more quickly than larger players. He has never played a full 16-game season. In 2007, his most productive year, Sanders competed in 15 games.